Watch Her Do A Dance, Then It Get Me In The Game
by Moonyandthestars
Summary: Marinette is a cheerleader, and although Adrien remains as wonderfully (frustratingly) oblivious as ever, there's something about seeing Marinette in action that makes things start to click in his mind. And his heart.
1. Chapter 1

\- A/N: Hi! I don't have much experience posting here but I hope you enjoy this :) I was watching choreography for Cheerleader and then I remembered a high school au in a different fandom where one of the characters was a cheerleader and I decided to write things, which was probably a bad idea -

xxx

 _ **Wednesday**_

Adrien tried his best to refrain from staring but continue appearing politely interested. He didn't think he was succeeding at the not-staring part, and he'd be right about that.

Marinette was _really_ good at this routine.

Graceful, which should've been surprising considering how clumsy she was sometimes, but it seemed to fit.

He wondered why she'd never asked him to come watch, but he had to smile at the impossibility of the idea. Only Marinette could be confident enough to be the class representative but too shy to talk about her place on the cheer squad with her friends.

Of course, they knew anyway. But it never elicited more than light-hearted teasing when she left to go practice and she didn't make a habit of bringing it up at other times.

Alya had said something to him about it earlier that morning, actually. Adrien angled his face towards the ceiling and studied the patchy woodwork as he tried to recall…

::

 _"Agreste, you can't seriously be that thick."_

Adrien winced a bit. He was apparently missing something important that Alya had refused to enlighten him on.

 _"Do you not understand that Marinette loves cheerleading? Whenever she talks about it her face lights up and she sounds so excited, it's insane. She's not shy about it at all! It's only when_ _ **you're**_ _-"_

 _Alya broke off abruptly and stepped back, shaking her head fondly at him._

 _"What?" Adrien had asked. "When I'm what?"_

 _"You'll have to work that one out on your own, buddy." And she turned away, heading for the gym, no doubt to congratulate Marinette as soon as she came out._

::

Adrien wished desperately for a clue as to what Alya had been trying to say.

Just one clue, that's all he wanted, that's all he _needed_ to piece it together, whatever ' _it'_ was. He considered stopping by Alya's house that afternoon to try and get it out of her but right at that moment Marinette stuck the landing of an elaborate flip, and Adrien focused all his attention back on her.

He attributed the warm feeling in his chest to the fact that he was wearing a thick sweater in a bid against the cold and cheered - the irony not lost on him - with the rest of the spectators.

* * *

 _ **Thursday**_

"Marinette!"

Marinette swivelled around at the sound of her name and felt an embarrassingly bright grin adorn her face when she saw who the voice belonged to. Adrien was running to catch up to her.

"Ha, hi Adrien." _So far, so good?_ Maybe he just thought she was happy about something.

Adrien stopped in front of her and gripped his knees, bent over and breathing heavily. She waited for him to catch his breath and took the opportunity to file away his flushed face and windblown hair in her memory for future reference.

"You were great yesterday at practice."

Marinette frowned in confusion and Adrien quickly elaborated. "I was watching in the gym. Cheerleading. You're amazing."

Marinette felt her insides sinking (juxtaposed with an odd sense of pride? She wasn't really sure why but knowing he had gone to the trouble of staying behind after school to watch her and the other cheerleaders practice made her feel light). "You were watching? What did you think?" _Idiot, he just said he thought it was great._

Adrien smiled and opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Nino calling his name from the gates. He looked impatient. Adrien gestured at him to wait a second and when he turned back to Marinette, she could see Nino mouthing an apology behind Adrien's back.

Apparently everyone knew about her crush on Adrien except the guy himself. Figures.

"Sorry, Nino's waiting, I should go. See you tomorrow?" He smiled apologetically and began walking away from her.

She stared after him for a few seconds and huffed out an embarrassed laugh, her breath condensing in the cold air.

"Yeah. Bye." A nice sentiment if Adrien hadn't already been long gone. Probably for the best, though - if he was still around to hear those words he would've wondered why they sounded so breathless.

Inside Marinette's bag, Tikki sighed deeply.

* * *

 _ **Friday**_

Marinette and Alya lounged on a park bench and talked about nothing in particular. Alya had come over to Marinette's house to do homework but they both got bored and, after completing a few more questions so they wouldn't feel as bad, decided to go for a walk. They'd quickly ended up here.

Marinette followed the path of a butterfly with her eyes, a soft smile on her face at the thought of how beautiful butterflies were when not akumatized.

 _Alya probably thinks I'm daydreaming._ Marinette chuckled quietly to herself and came up with something on the spot to satiate Alya when said friend glanced her way.

"Y'know Adrien came to watch cheerleading practice today."

Alya said nothing but made a _go on_ motion with her hand.

"He said I was good."

Now Alya turned away to hide the growing grin on her face. "Those were his exact words, were they?"

Marinette coloured slightly and focused on the butterfly again, which was bobbing up and down near Alya's head. "Uh, no. He actually said I was great."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"Well, I- wait a minute, why are you smiling like that?" Marinette grabbed Alya's shoulders and turned her around so that they were facing each other. "What's so funny? Are my failures with Adrien really that hilarious to you?" Her voice cracked with the hint of a laugh, Alya was infectious, and she paused as she realised they were attracting attention.

People were pointedly not staring, which said more than staring ever could.

Marinette hid her reddening face in her hands, and Alya's stomach hurt, she was laughing so hard.

"Nothing Mari, chill! It's just that Adrien's never been into cheerleading before. Don't you think him suddenly coming to watch when you join means something?"

Marinette traced a finger along the lines of the bench and thought about it carefully. "I don't know. I mean, maybe it's just a coincidence."

Alya placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and willed her best friend to be more optimistic. "I don't think so, girl."

She stood up and stretched languidly, holding out a hand to pull Marinette up and shrieking in surprise when Marinette overbalanced her. They both went tumbling to the ground, tangled in each other and laughing again as Alya tried to see past the tears in her eyes to find where her glasses had fallen.

...

When she walked home later in the evening, Alya didn't bother hiding her satisfied grin.

Marinette liked Adrien. Adrien… probably liked her back, if his behaviour was any indication.

There was no real reason for Alya to refuse Adrien this information, but she sure enjoyed watching him try (and fail) to uncover the 'secret' on his own. And if he happened to fall in love with Marinette along the way, well, what are friends for?

Besides, Marinette really did make a good cheerleader.


	2. Chapter 2

\- A/N: Let's just hope for the best because I have no idea what I'm doing xx -

* * *

 ** _Saturday_**

"Ladybug!"

Ladybug turned and her mouth twitched upwards at the sight of Chat's black-clad figure. He looked pleased with himself. She wondered why.

Chat Noir dropped lightly down to the ground beside her, the golden bell on his chest ringing cheerfully, and twirled his staff brazenly in one hand. "My apologies, I didn't mean to keep my lady waiting."

Ladybug spun back around and began walking purposely toward their target (away from him), responding with a "No worries, Chat, I haven't been waiting long."

He hurried to catch up with her and flashed a bright smile. "Y'know, if you're cold we could always… huddle for warmth?"

Ladybug seemed to actually consider it for a few seconds, and Chat Noir's - Adrien's - heart leapt. But then she snorted and shook her head. "Nice try, kitty. I'm not that cold."

 _Then why do I feel like I've been stabbed through the heart with ice?_ "Well I don't know about-"

"Wait." She held out a hand and stopped him abruptly, pointing to his left.

A nearby horde of civilians watched in silent terror as flashes of white and blue shot past them. "There," Ladybug said grimly, "Ice Queen".

The ice crystals embedded themselves in walls and doors, causing concentrated wintry explosions. Now the civilians started screaming, and Ladybug clicked her tongue in irritation. "Someone should really do something about Chloe. The amount of villains caused by her alone is enough to wear out any hero. This poor girl doesn't deserve to go on an evil rampage just because some blonde menace treated her coldly."

Chat Noir watched the civilians and said nothing, sighing quietly enough that Ladybug didn't hear. "Let's go."

And they did. Together. It didn't take long.

Ladybug moved like a shadow, leaping and twirling, dancing around crystal shards and dodging icy blasts, throwing her arm skilfully back to hurl her yo-yo around the Queen's limbs and render them useless - it was mesmerizing. And strangely reminiscent of something.

Chat tried not to, but he spent as much time watching her as he did contributing to the fight. She was captivating. _You've fought with her dozens of times, of course her fighting style is familiar._

But that wasn't it. She… she…

 _She_ was getting annoyed at having to repeatedly remind her partner to stay focused. _What's with him today?_

What, indeed.

As luck would have it, Ice Queen was little more than a minor disturbance and didn't pose any real danger to the people of Paris. Just petty words floating on the wind, the frost behind them enough to make you shiver but ineffective against genuine warmth. Or a deadly polka dot yo-yo. Like Chloe.

She was designed to be cold, and her crystals were sharp, but they could only do so much, and even half distracted Ladybug and Chat Noir were a force to be reckoned with.

Not that Ladybug didn't let Chat have it the second the battle was over. She released her lucky charm and turned on him, curling her fingers into angry fists as he stepped back nervously.

"C- Can I help you, my lady?"

"Help me? _Help_ me? Yeah, actually, a little _help_ back there would've been nice! What are you doing daydreaming in the middle of stopping an akumatized villain?!"

"Ah, well… you see, there's a good explanation for that, I was…" Chat Noir drifted off uncertainly.

What did you say to that? I was too busy lost in your eyes? I was trying to work out why you suddenly looked so familiar when I have no idea who you are and we do this all the time?

You looked like you were dancing, the way you flipped up and down and moved around, and I saw stars?

Adrien felt that same odd warmth in his chest he'd felt back at school as he watched the fierce red in Ladybug's cheeks gradually fade away, to be replaced by a look of pure exasperation.

She had the most beautiful blue eyes. And freckles. They were tantalizingly familiar.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled weakly.

"Chat Noir-"

 _ ***Beep* *Beep* *Beep***_

"Oh, uh, looks like I don't have much time left," Ladybug said, "I'll see you around." She backed away slowly, still looking puzzled as she regarded Chat, who tried for an apologetic smile and raised his hand in a small wave.

She narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head, throwing her yo-yo in the air and swinging away.

Chat watched her go and once she was out of sight, he leaned his back against the solidness of the concrete wall behind him and allowed his knees to give out completely, sliding down to a confused heap on the ground.

He could feel his face burning and he wished more than anything to know _why_.

...

Marinette ran around a corner to change back, catching Tikki in her hands and fondling her small cheek the way she knew made the kwami giggle. At least Tikki never let her down.

"Marinette, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About Chat Noir?"

Marinette glanced back in the direction she had come from, searching for any sign of a black skintight suit, or blond hair, or bright green eyes. "Yeah, he was acting weird today."

Tikki brushed a strand of hair out of Marinette's face and patted her cheek, trying her best to be reassuring. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. He probably just had an off day."

Marinette smiled gently. "I guess you're right, Tikki."

"Anyway, you have cheerleading practice to look forward to tomorrow."

Marinette brightened up immediately, "You're right, Tikki! I forgot all about that. We should get home and start on my homework so I can get to sleep."

As they walked she tipped her face to the sun to soak in the warmth after dealing with such a freezing villain. She didn't mean to, but she wondered out loud, "I hope Adrien will come watch again."

* * *

 ** _Monday_**

Marinette woke up late, as per usual, and was frantic as she showered in record time and grabbed anything to wear. She snagged a muffin and kissed her mom on the cheek, with a quick "Bye Dad!" over her shoulder as she rushed out the door.

Marinette ran all the way to school and didn't let herself stop until she stood outside the classroom door, gasping and trying desperately to catch her breath. She reached out, opened the door gingerly and slid inside, hoping Madame Mendeleiev's back was turned, but unfortunately she was addressing the class and her head snapped to Marinette the minute the door moved.

"You're late again, Miss Cheng," she said, fixing Marinette with a level glare. "What's your excuse this time?"

Marinette's mind whirled and she latched onto the first thing she could think of. "Sorry Madame, we had an early customer at the bakery and I had to help serve them and-"

"Never mind, just take your seat."

Marinette shuffled into the room and moved up the steps to her seat as discreetly as possible, which wasn't much at all. Alya raised an eyebrow at her and she gave a rueful grin, pulling out her book to start taking notes. Alya stopped her and motioned her head towards the front row, and Marinette looked down to see Adrien smiling at her.

Rationally speaking, she knew he was just casually greeting her, like friends do, but she couldn't stop herself from beaming back at him. His mouth twitched and he turned away to hide his bemusement.

While he faced the front again Marinette buried her face in her book and made a tiny whimpering noise. _What is wrong with me?_

...

The end of classes for the day felt like heaven. She had been working hard at the bakery all of Sunday; her parents had some sort of sale going on and customers were flocking in. She wanted nothing more than to relax and practice was perfect for that, weirdly enough.

She felt light as she entered the gym and joined the group of girls and a few boys stretching lazily by the sidelines.

"Hey!" Rose raised her head upon hearing footsteps and smiled warmly in Marinette's direction.

"Hi, Rose."

"We're going to be working hard today, so get ready."

"No problem."

They were practicing a routine for the soccer semi-finals coming up in two weeks. It was high-power and hard to get the hang of, but Marinette loved the challenge and when they finally got it right she knew it'd look amazing. She scanned the spectators and tried to make it look natural, as if she wasn't hoping to find Adrien, and was almost disappointed until she picked out his blond head towards the middle and felt her heart irrationally beating faster.

 _Focus, Mari. You can't let Adrien distract you._

So she focused on rolling her body the right way as Mylene did the same beside her and, unfortunately, missed Adrien's reaction entirely. Which was a good thing for him, because Adrien was sure he'd turned pink and Marinette would've been able to see the awe in his eyes had she been looking his way at the time.

Not that he'd ever admit it, of course.

...

Adrien walked towards the limo distractedly, nearly tripping and face-planting on the road as he got in. He could feel Plagg snickering under his shirt but ignored that in favour of quickly craning his neck to see if he could catch a glimpse of Marinette through the rear window.

She was talking to Juleka, apparently making a joke as they both laughed. Adrien smiled.

Marinette was really very endearing in her own way. Even her habit of stuttering and looking like a deer caught in headlights whenever he spoke to her was cute, if a little worrying.

The Gorilla drove off, and Adrien turned back to face the front of the car. Plagg chose this moment to wiggle out from under his shirt and nudge his small, furry nose insistently into Adrien's side. "Did you work it out?"

Adrien furrowed his brows. "Work what out?"

Plagg shrugged. "Ever since you saved the day with Ladybug you've been looking all confused and far away. You gave me half the regular amount of camembert and you haven't been concentrating on anything. I figured you were trying to work something out. So did you?"

Adrien sighed and muttered, "I don't know, Plagg. I've always had feelings for Ladybug but there was something different on Saturday. Or maybe just something I haven't noticed before. But I notice everything about her! What could I have missed? And it was a good thing, I think, but it reminds me of something else that I just can't put my finger on. And then Marinette…"

"What about her?"

"I don't _know_ , she's…. Marinette!" Adrien groaned.

The Gorilla glanced at him in the rear-view mirror and Adrien flushed as he mouthed a _'sorry'_ , sinking back into the leather seat of the limo and feeling his stomach fluttering. But with _what_?

Plagg just shook his head at Adrien and started nosing around his pockets for more cheese.

Apparently everyone knew more than Adrien did, but no one was willing to share that information with him. Not even his damned kwami was being helpful.

Adrien smiled, despite himself. _That's nothing new._


	3. Chapter 3

\- A/N: The first version of this chapter was rushed and not great so this is an edited version, have fun! -

* * *

 _ **Thursday**_

In all honesty, Marinette shouldn't have been surprised to see Chat Noir wandering around in town for no reason. The real question was whether he was patrolling ( _unnecessary?_ ) or just attention-seeking.

She'd decided to take a walk down the path to the aquarium for two reasons: one, it was warm out, and two, the aquarium was one of her favourite places in the city. All peaceful and pretty in an eerie way … perfect for winding down. It was while she stopped to admire a cluster of flowers that Marinette noticed a long black tail flicking out from behind a nearby building. The rest of him soon followed.

As Chat Noir caught sight of her Marinette saw a matching shade of surprise in his eyes, but where hers was unmistakable, his was a momentary flicker. The curtain fell and his face returned to its signature cat-like grin.

'Hello, Princess,' he said, walking lazily towards her.

Marinette felt a twinge of exasperation but it was weaker than usual. 'Hi, Chat Noir. What are you doing here?"

Chat stopped in front of her and leaned against the concrete beside them, immediately responding with a confident, "Making your dreams come true."

Internally he regretted this and prayed he wasn't blushing. Externally he was a mask, pun intended.

Marinette stared at him for a few seconds, likely wondering if he was running a fever, before snorting uncontrollably. This inevitably turned into giggles, which turned into full-blown laughter, until she was doubled over and gasping for breath. Adrien could do nothing but watch her, embarrassed and entranced. She never laughed like this when he spoke to her without the mask.

It made her light up, both figuratively and literally, because when she straightened up again, breathing heavily and a broad smile still plastered on her face, she glowed.

"I think you have the wrong person, Chat. With you around this is more like a nightmare." Marinette patted his shoulder fondly and neatly stepped around him, but he followed her still, making indignant noises and attempting to save face.

"You _wound_ me, Princess! How do you expect me to keep saving Paris when you say things like that?"

She smirked and Adrien's rebellious heart fluttered. "I'm sure you'll survive."

They reached the entrance to the aquarium but, surprisingly (everything was surprising today), Marinette made no move to go inside. She was too caught up in their routine back-and-forth to even remember the point of her walk, which was really saying something as Chat Noir was a significant annoyance on a good day.

Marinette would have sooner stuck her head in the fish tanks than admitted it, but the fleeting look of embarrassment and hurt pride on his face when she laughed at him struck a chord in her heart. It was... something.

Something she'd rather not reflect on because the feeling reminded her briefly of _Adrien_ and she was trying very hard to draw a line in the sand between her feelings for him and her feelings for _this_ particular person.

She might've been inclined to think about it more except Chat Noir had started 'casually' swinging his long, metal, dangerous staff around like he was a professional baton twirler and she was scared he'd hit something.

"Hey," Marinette grabbed his hand to still the movement, "be careful with that. We're nearly inside, and there's a lot of glass."

"I don't think my staff is that long," Chat Noir replied bemusedly, but he stopped playing with it. He didn't even let himself think properly about that for fear of turning bright red. "You should have more faith in me! I'm way too skilled with this thing to break stuff. Not without meaning to, at least."

Marinette rolled her eyes and ignored the curve of his mouth as it turned up at the corners. "Yeah, whatever. You still haven't answered my question."

"What question?"

"What are you doing out here?"

"It was warm out. Seemed like as good a time as any to go for a walk."

"As Chat Noir?"

He shrugged. "People are nicer to me as Chat Noir." _Not that they aren't already_ , Adrien thought bitterly. Marinette didn't know he was Gabriel Agreste's son so he couldn't tell her he changed into Chat Noir for a few minutes of peace.

A woman walked past them now, shouldering a heavy bag as she tried to get into the aquarium and staring openly at Chat while she edged around him. In fact, she was so focused on him that her cell phone slipped out of the bag and fell to the ground with an unfortunate _**crack**_. She jumped slightly, but before Marinette or even the woman herself could pick it up, Adrien knelt to grab it and handed it to her, smiling kindly.

She matched his smile and inclined her head before continuing inside.

Marinette blinked in ever-present surprise. "That was nice of you."

Chat Noir glanced at her over his shoulder and then looked away self-consciously, rubbing the back of his neck. "It wasn't a big deal."

"I think it was."

He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue, enjoying the way her mouth quirked up.

"I mean, Chat Noir being selfless? Aren't you too busy using bad pick-up lines on civilians to rescue phones?"

Chat cocked his head to the side and replied, "First of all, my lines are _purrfect_." He enjoying the fact that the smile stayed on Marinette's face, well aware that she was wilfully ignoring what he had just said.

He sauntered closer to her and she took a few nervous ( _Nervous? Since when was she nervous around him?_ ) steps back until she was pressed against the aquarium wall. Chat Noir smiled down at her, his eyes twinkling, and Marinette felt a thrill run through her body.

"And second of all, you're right, I have a reputation to uphold, so don't tell anyone, will you? It might ruin my cool guy image." _God, she's cute._

Adrien thought for one terrifying second he'd said the wrong part of that out loud, but Marinette didn't show any signs of having heard the last thing. Her eyes were locked onto his face and Adrien was feeling more and more unsure about this by the second, but he was too scared to move in case the spell was broken.

And then Marinette huffed in annoyance and it broke anyway because she put her hands on his shoulders, gently but firmly separating the two of them. Chat Noir brushed it off amicably and continued making mindless conversation as they finally entered the aquarium.

But internally Adrien was having a crisis because Marinette was _really_ cute. She was wearing a loose, peach pink-collared shirt and slim black jeans, her trademark purse, and a bright ribbon in her hair that Adrien simultaneously loved and hated for how good it looked. He wanted to _tell_ her how good it looked, but then she'd probably laugh at him for being sappy and he'd have to see a doctor.

"So anyway," he said, desperately grasping for anything to take his mind off her, "I hear you've been following in my footsteps." He answered Marinette's confused look smoothly with, "Cheerleading. Takes a lot of energy and flexibility to do stuff like that. Not to mention the flipping. I'm truly honoured to be your inspiration."

Marinette opened her mouth to say… what? She wasn't sure, exactly, but then the significance of his words hit her like a truck and her eyes widened. "You go to my school?"

Chat Noir froze. _Shoot._ "Uh, I don't know if that's information I should disclose-"

"But you already know I do cheerleading! Which means you either go to my school or you're a stalk-"

"Okay, _please_ don't finish that sentence. The first option, thanks."

Marinette eyes narrowed, but she let him off the hook. For now.

Adrien, on the other hand, wasn't finished. "You're really good, you know. Awesome, in fact. At cheerleading." _At everything._ Adrien knew this was dangerous territory but he couldn't lie, and it felt dishonest not to acknowledge her skill.

 _When did this happen? What about Ladybug?_ And he would have kept worrying about those very valid questions if not for the slow smile blooming on Marinette's face.

It was a big, proper smile and Adrien felt both a little pride at having elicited it, and suitably awed at having witnessed it. Her eyes twinkled and she beamed at him, stopping his heart in its tracks.

He must have looked blinded by the ray of sunshine standing in front of him because Marinette giggled knowingly.

"Thanks, Chat."

"Anytime, Princess."

…

Marinette sat in the corner of the aquarium, her hand pressed lightly to a turtle tank and reflecting the blue light, her mind whirling on another astral plane. She'd said goodbye to Chat about half an hour ago, and now she was thinking about how she felt. She felt dizzy. Annoyed, to be perfectly honest. And also warm.

She blew air out of her nose in frustration and muttered to herself, "This is so typical. I can get some person I don't even know in a catsuit to like me, but not the guy I _actually_ like who's in my class. Great job, Marinette."

Tikki giggled from inside Marinette's purse. "Stop worrying so much, Adrien thinks you're wonderful! This is where you come to cool down, right? You should be enjoying yourself." Her muffled, earnest voice made Marinette feel better, as it always did.

"Thanks, Tikki."

* * *

 _ **Friday**_

Marinette leaped out of bed the next day and practically flew through her morning routine, not letting herself relax for a second until she was out the door and running. Which didn't make sense, but it sounded right to her.

She _just_ slid into class on time to answer when her name was called and jumped up to sit next to Alya. Except Alya wasn't there. Adrien was.

Marinette faltered and looked at Adrien in surprise.

"Hi, Marinette." His eyes that crinkled at the corners, betraying his seemingly constant happiness, looked tired. Only Adrien could make a bad night of sleep look good.

"Hi!" _Tone down the enthusiasm,_ "Hi. Where's Alya?" Marinette flicked her eyes to the seats in front of them and frowned. "Nino's not here either?"

"I saw him this morning, but he told me to sit up here for today and then ran off," Adrien shrugged. "I'm not sure about Alya though." He stifled a yawn and grinned at her. "So why were you late today? Busy dreaming about someone?"

Marinette choked a little and stuttered out a "No! I just didn't hear my alarm."

Adrien made a non-committal noise and faced the front, but Marinette could see the amusement dancing in his eyes. She rested her chin on her hand and felt unusually confident. "Were _you_ dreaming about someone?"

Adrien didn't look at her as he replied. "Not really. Anyway, we're sitting together so we might as well work together, right?"

"What?" Marinette looked towards the front of the class and realised the teacher wasn't there. When did that happen? The rest of the class were in pairs, talking animatedly about whose work they would choose.

Now that she thought about it, Marinette vaguely remembered Madame Bustier mentioning that they'd be analyzing some poem to present to the class earlier that week, but she hadn't realised they were starting today. 'Oh, yeah, I guess.'

"Alright, so…" Adrien began a lengthy speech about Edgar Allan Poe and he was so absorbed in it he didn't notice Marinette watching him, but she couldn't not notice him. She marvelled at the way his mouth formed the words, and his eyes grew brighter as he got more excited, and his hair fell in his eyes but he didn't brush it away because he was too busy solidifying his title as a genius. Marinette didn't even realise she was outright staring until he caught her eye and abruptly stopped talking.

He had an odd look on his face, like astonishment mixed with something unreadable and strangely familiar.

"Hey, did you have a different idea? I didn't mean to ramble, sorry."

Marinette kicked herself inwardly and flashed him a nervous smile. "No that's fine, I was just," she made vague hand gestures, "um, I-" and then trailed off, feeling her face grow warm. Adrien held her gaze for a few torturous seconds before snorting quietly, and to his credit he did try to stop, but Marinette looked so lost and flustered and it was hopelessly endearing.

"What's so funny?!"

"Nothing, I'm sorry." Marinette frowned at him and his smile widened. "I'm sorry! You just looked a little out of it. Did you get enough sleep last night?"

"Yeah, I slept just fine."

"Huh."

Marinette realised too late he had been trying to give her a way out and she didn't take it. _Idiot._

Predictably, her rush to get to class on time had loosened her hair from its pigtails, but before she could smooth it out and use that as an excuse to look away from him, Adrien was reaching up to brush away a strand on her cheek.

He looked as nervous as she felt at the sudden contact, but he smiled anyway and his hand remained there for slightly longer than was necessary. Just as Marinette was considering placing her hand over his, they were interrupted by a heavy pile of books falling onto the table in front of them.

"Hey, guys!" Alya grinned cheerfully at them. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything? Sorry I'm late."

Marinette didn't see the wink she threw Adrien's way but she noticed his face reddening a little and filed that away for future reference too. "No, we were just talking about the assignment."

Alya continued smiling. "I'm sure you were."


	4. Chapter 4

\- A/N: First of all I haven't updated this story in ages and I genuinely didn't mean for that to happen but… it did, so I apologise. Also I fixed up the previous chapter because I wasn't happy with it. -

* * *

 _ **Wednesday**_

It had been days and Marinette was dying.

Or at least, she _felt_ like she was. Her crush on Adrien was definitely nothing new, but the mental image of his gentle teasing and inadvertently charming, sleepy grin from a week ago still left her scrubbing self-consciously at her pink cheeks whenever her mind wandered in public. Her daydreaming was worse than ever.

The funniest thing ('funny' being a relative term) was that he still apparently had no idea she liked him. Pretty much everyone in the class could make an educated guess at what Marinette Dupain-Cheng thought of Adrien Agreste except _Adrien himself_ , and it was a little surprising considering how intuitive he usually was.

She wondered, not for the first time, if he was aware of her feelings for him and just too nice to ever bring it up. And if that was the case, it would most likely mean he didn't feel the same way and was trying to let her down easy.

So was it better to stay in this constant state of _will he, won't he,_ or was it better to just be upfront with Adrien and hope for the best?

Marinette shook her head tiredly, and with her fading fatigue went those mutinous thoughts, away to wherever thoughts go when you don't have to time or energy to think about them. Right now she needed to get out of bed, get dressed, and run to school so she wouldn't be late.

(Again.)

…

It had been days and Adrien was more frustrated than ever.

On the one hand, Marinette was an absolute sweetheart, and a great friend, and an overall good person, and it would be so easy to just stop fighting it and let himself have feelings for her.

But on the other hand, Adrien still felt pangs in his chest whenever he saw Ladybug. Whenever he _thought_ about Ladybug. She was beautiful, witty, and strong, and he'd turned to jelly after less than 5 minutes in her presence while battling Ice Queen.

A normal day, if you will.

And now the problem was, who did he like?

The simple answer was both, but that wasn't a viable option because it didn't seem fair to fall for Marinette while hung up on someone else. If anything happened between them, Adrien wanted to be able to give her one hundred percent, and that was becoming increasingly more difficult with the existence of a certain dark-haired superhero in a red suit.

…

In typical Adrien fashion, he had been pacing up and down the hallway for a solid ten minutes, waiting for Natalie to finish organising whatever needed to be organised for his father's latest fashion show. He would've preferred to go to school (understatement of the year), but there was no arguing with Gabriel when he was set on something.

And so Adrien satisfied himself with his agitated pacing. It had been more than two weeks now since Alya spoke to him and Adrien _knew_ he was close, but he needed just a little bit more.

 _More of what?_ he mused. But who could tell?

…

Marinette was _thriving_. She hadn't felt so clear-headed and sure of herself for days now, and she loved Adrien to pieces but his absence from school was truly a blessing if it allowed her to focus on something else for a change.

Of course, it didn't escape her attention that his seat was empty. But she knew him well enough to know he was probably busy with some modelling project for his father and he'd be back soon enough.

She got out a pen from her bag and firmly resolved to take comprehensive notes. Not that Marinette wouldn't normally pay attention, but if she was being honest with herself there had been some minor distractions as of late.

She made it all the way to the end of the period and was standing by the doorway, listening idly to Alya rave about a comment someone left on the ladyblog, when it happened.

Kim (of _course_ Kim) and Max slid past the two girls as they left to get lunch. Marinette only caught the tail end of what he was saying but her unruly ears perked up immediately. She was sure Kim had mentioned something about Adrien, and there went her concentration.

…

Adrien carefully peeled off the expensive brand jacket he'd donned and breathed a quick sigh of relief. His father didn't much care what he did after the modelling gigs were over so long as it wasn't detrimental to the company's image, and Adrien wanted to take this rare opportunity to get some fresh evening air.

The minute he could leave, he found himself heading towards Marinette's house, ostensibly to work on the poem with her. A likely story.

There was more to it than that, but he entertained the lie for as long as he could.

Adrien felt oddly nervous as he neared the front door, and had to brace himself before entering.

"Hello, Adrien dear."

He jumped. Sabine was smiling at him from the sink behind the counter and Adrien rushed to collect himself, reciprocating warmly. He hadn't really expected anyone to be in here this late.

Which was admittedly stupid since Marinette's parents run a bakery, but _still_.

"Hi, Mrs Cheng. Is Marinette here? We have schoolwork to do together."

"Of course. She's upstairs practicing, so go quietly."

Adrien thanked her and started up the steps, unsure what to expect. _Practicing for what?_ But he didn't have to wait long for his question to be answered, and the answer blew him away.

Her door was already open and he could hear music coming from inside, so he poked his head in and immediately stopped in his tracks. Marinette was in the middle of a cheerleading routine and didn't notice him until he called her name, which was difficult considering he was finding it hard to breathe.

She looked unreal. As she turned her head at the sound of his voice Adrien half thought he imagined her, like she was a will o' the wisp and he couldn't speak too loudly for fear of blowing her away. And then, of course, the spell was broken for the second time in less than a week because she immediately blushed and stopped practicing.

"Adrien!"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to intrude- "

"No, I was just practicing moving to the music, y'know for- "

"The game? Yeah, I do know. It looks awesome."

Marinette reddened even more, but her face was lit up by an embarrassed smile.

"Thanks. You should come to it! The actual performance will be even better."

"Yeah, that sounds great." Adrien beamed at her and Marinette's smile grew twice as big, just like her heart. She forced herself not to do a victory dance but couldn't control her small skip of happiness.

And that was the final straw. There's only so much one person can take, and poor Adrien was so enamoured his chest was starting to hurt. Marinette was too cute for her own good, really.

He was sure he looked highly infatuated and wished he knew how to leave gracefully.

"Okay, see you tomorrow!" he said, stumbling over his words, and climbed down the steps as fast as humanly possible.

In Adrien's rush to go, the edge of his expensive scarf caught on a nail, and he had to make a split-second decision to leave it. He had others.

"Wait!" Marinette called, "Didn't you come here for something?" Her face fell.

 _Why is he leaving so soon?_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Friday**_

Ladybug and Chat Noir were engaged in the third round of a riveting game of charades. Chat Noir was winning by two points and well-aware of the fact.

How they came to be playing charades required returning to the start of the day.

There had been a distress call, but after abandoning her walk to school to respond, Marinette had found nothing but an overenthusiastic fan asking her to sign a shirt.

Chat Noir showed up a few minutes later, but unlike Ladybug, who was somewhere in-between very flattered and thoroughly irritated, he was as chivalrous as ever. "Anything for a fan, it's _really_ no trouble!" All that jazz.

Ladybug had to question his sincerity when he broke out in peals of laughter as soon as they walked out of earshot. His smile was wide enough to slide right off his face and onto hers, and his pale hair caught the light beautifully, literally lighting him up. He may have even _snorted_ , and Marinette couldn't let that slide.

She crossed her arms and tuned back into the present to chew him out.

"... be late for school?"

 _What?_

"What?" she asked, blinking in confusion.

Chat Noir raised an eyebrow. "I said, aren't you worried about being late for school?"

Ladybug hesitated before answering. She still felt distant, and the mirth still playing on his lips, hinting at friendly amusement, didn't help at all. "I'm usually late anyway, so it's not a big deal."

"Oh, really? Which classes are you in?"

Ladybug smiled and shoved his shoulder lightly. "Nice try, but I'm not telling you _that_ easily."

"Worth a shot," he replied.

When he didn't say anything more, Marinette looked closer at him and noticed he was avoiding her eyes. He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, seeming restless but still taking his time. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "I wanted to apologise."

Ladybug furrowed her brows. "Huh? Apologise for what?"

"The last time we saw each other, I was pretty much useless. I don't know, I'm just sorry I made you do all the work. I should have been more focused."

"Chat Noir, I'm not mad," Ladybug replied gently.

"Yeah, but you should be!" he insisted. A stray curl of hair fell over his left eye, and Ladybug almost laughed at his vehemence. "I mean, you don't even know why I was so distracted that day."

She motioned for him to continue.

"Uh," Adrien began, clearing his throat nervously. He hadn't expected her to follow through with that. Now Ladybug did laugh. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I was distracted by you."

The grin slipped quickly from Ladybug's face, and she stared at him with wide eyes.

Adrien abandoned his fear and dived in headfirst. "Listen, I know it's not the time, but I really do like you. A lot. It's hard _not_ to when you're so kind, and intelligent, and self-assured. And beautiful. And lots of other things that buzz around in my head whenever I see you. It's hard to pay attention to some lame 'ice' villain when I'm spending time with you." He paused for breath, and waited for the impending rejection, hoping she'd be gentle.

Marinette was speechless. So was Ladybug, which was slightly more noteworthy. She opened and closed her mouth for a few seconds, but no words would form on her tongue.

Finally, she managed a weak, "You're kidding, right?"

Chat Noir swallowed and shook his head silently. Their eyes were locked on each other, but Chat Noir had exhausted his store of bravery and Ladybug's voice appeared to have packed up and gone home for the day.

After what felt like an hour, but was probably closer to 20 seconds, Ladybug huffed out a shaky breath. "You big dork. Stop playing around, and let's go."

But both of them knew he had meant everything he said, and Marinette's heart near fluttered right out of her chest. To hear those words for the first time _ever_ was exhilarating. She couldn't believe any real person was so enamoured with _her_ , Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Maybe he wasn't real. That would explain a lot.

Ladybug immediately regretted all those times she'd teased him about everything under the sun.

 _But then, he teases me back. That's our thing._

So it was.

Marinette didn't know when or why they had started walking in the direction of the school, but the easy, lopsided grin was back on Chat Noir's face as he filled the silence with one of his elaborate stories.

She listened fondly, a little impressed by his embellishment skills, but unable to ignore the pangs of guilt in her chest. His grin lacked its usual intensity, and she knew it was her who had taken away his sunshine.

…

There was a second call for help at around 3:00, and this time Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up at the same time.

It was a robber, obsessed with diamonds in particular - not insignificant but also not serious, because they were incredibly incompetent. Maybe Hawk Moth was having a bad day.

Everything was resolved in about ten minutes, and just as Marinette wondered if she should head back to the bakery, Adrien tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she wanted to play charades.

"Charades?" Ladybug repeated curiously.

"Yeah, I don't really want to go home just yet, and we don't need anything to play, so… how about it?"

"But I've never played before."

Chat Noir's eyes widened. " _Never_? No way, we have to fix that right now."

"You're on, kitty."

They found a quiet spot round the back of the jewellery story they'd just saved, and the hours soon slid away from them. Ladybug managed to turn the tables on Chat Noir after a few failed rounds of what she proudly dubbed her 'initiation'.

* * *

 _ **Saturday**_

Adrien was on top of the world. A master of knowledge. The next member of Mystery Inc. It had taken him a solid two weeks, but he figured it was better late than never.

He'd collected all of the puzzle pieces, fit them together, and then realised the picture was clear from the beginning. He'd been sending himself around in circles. Sometimes he wished he wasn't so inexperienced when it came to friends.

Based on the evidence, namely the way Marinette was only shy around him and Alya's annoyingly cryptic messages, Adrien was now fairly sure that Marinette had feelings for him. It explained a lot, and made him happier than he anticipated.

Truth be told, Adrien felt a little conceited thinking about it. What if he was completely off-base, and embarrassed both himself and Marinette in the process? _What if I make her uncomfortable?_

He would never forgive himself for driving her away. He cared about Marinette far too much; he needed a chance to make her feel as good as he felt talking to her. Even when she didn't say anything, Adrien felt like she radiated warmth. Even when she hadn't done anything, Adrien couldn't help smiling at her, as if she drew out the happiness from deep inside him and brought it to the surface.

It was serious. The question now was what to do about it.

He reciprocated her feelings, but wasn't in the habit of initiating these things. So far, his only love-related experience had been confessing to Ladybug, and that had taken every ounce of his willpower. He still couldn't look at her without his insides twisting up in embarrassment over what he said, and feeling a distinct trace of sadness.

But they were still friends, which Adrien was grateful for. No matter what, they would _always be partners-in-crime_. She told him that, and he kept it close to him.

Back to Marinette. How do you start that conversation? _What if I make her uncomfortable?_

He wasn't sure. But in any case, if Adrien was going to continue being honest about his feelings, he had to talk to her about it.

…

An hour later, instead of talking to Marinette, Adrien called Alya for advice. She didn't pick up, but he was relentless and she eventually answered on the third call.

He felt slightly bad about waking her up at 8:00 on a Saturday morning, but this was important, and she would be happy for Marinette, right?

"This had better be good, Adrien," Alya ground out, barely stifling a yawn.

"Yeah, it is. Good morning, by the way."

"It was," she muttered.

Adrien chuckled quietly. "You and Marinette are best friends, so I thought you'd know her best. I need your opinion on something."

He couldn't actually see Alya's expression, but Adrien swore he could hear her ears perking up in interest. "I'm listening."

"Would you, uh, would you say… like, do you think that Marinette maybe-"

"- is in love with you?" Alya finished. " _Yes_ , dude, where have you been? I've been trying to make this work for ages."

Adrien was relieved. His suspicions weren't wrong. "So, what should I do? How do I talk to Marinette about it?"

Alya paused momentarily. When she spoke again her voice was calmer, but firm. "Do you have feelings for her?"

Adrien felt his face heating up, and was inordinately glad she couldn't see him blushing. He swallowed quickly and closed his eyes. "Yeah, I do."

"You two are adorable." He could hear the smile in her voice. "In that case, you don't need to worry about anything. As long as you don't overwhelm her with good news, she'll be over the moon."

Adrien sighed. "That doesn't really help, but thanks."

"Look, Adrien, Marinette's a big girl, and I'm not a psychologist. My advice can only get you so far. If you really want to know how she'll react, you should be talking to her. But you and I both know she's got it bad for you," Alya said, exasperated.

"Sorry, you're right. About the first part, I mean."

"I usually am. But we're friends, too, and I'm happy to help as long as you call _after_ 9:30," she warned. Adrien filed that piece of information away for future reference, then decided to leave her to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

\- A/N: I did consider abandoning this story because it'd been so long and I felt guilty, but it turns out I'm too stubborn to let myself quit lol so thankyou so much if you stuck around all this time & I hope this final chapter was somewhat worth it! -

* * *

 _ **Monday**_

The afternoon of the semi-finals had finally arrived. Marinette could hardly believe how quickly two weeks had passed, but now that it was here, she felt the small thrill of excitement in her chest growing stronger with each passing minute.

The cheerleading squad stood by the sidelines, alternately following the two teams and muttering small pointers to each other. The game had been going for about 45 minutes, and as Françoise-Dupont narrowly missed a goal, the raucous sounds of the crowd's impassioned protest marked the end of the first half.

Almost time, now. Players slinked away from the centre of the gym for a short break, and Marinette began her stretches. Despite her nervousness, she felt unusually brave. She breathed in slowly and resolved to do her absolute best, no matter how it turned out. With any luck (of which she had little) her short burst of confidence would be enough to see her safely through this.

Soon the players returned, and the squad knew it was time to move. They would raise morale for their team sky-high and send them into the second half, eyes blazing for the win.

And with that, they began.

...

Adrien was speechless. Or rather, he had everything to say but no words with which to express it.

For one thing, he'd had no idea Marinette was so _flexible_ , and, trying to ignore the heat in his face, he knew he wouldn't soon forget. But more importantly, she exuded charm and pure, unadulterated delight strongly enough to leave him smiling from ear to ear before his mind even registered the fact. She was so _beautiful_.

The entire squad was doing an incredible job, with a deceptively simple routine that incorporated such constant motion Adrien might have felt dizzy, but all he could see was Marinette. Marinette as she twirled, pivoted, jumped, ran to her next position, stamped and clapped in time with nine other girls; only her.

They cheered too, obviously. A simple beat, like clockwork, which roused the players from their 15-minute-break-induced calm, and filled the air with newfound courage.

The routine lasted for about 5 minutes, and then half-time ended and the soccer game continued. Adrien, however, felt light for a long time afterwards.

...

Another 45 minutes later and it was all over. The small crowd started filing out to go home, but Adrien headed first in the direction he'd seen Marinette leave.

Immediately after the game, he'd determinedly caught her eye from his place in the stands to give her the proudest smile he could muster, but she turned bright red and fled once the doors opened.

Honestly, he felt a little bad for making her so nervous, but he also couldn't deny his embarrassed pleasure at having such an effect on her.

Marinette wasn't hard to find. It took Adrien approximately three minutes to catch up to where she was, _not_ -hiding in their empty classroom. She sat on the second step, apparently hyper-focused on something inside her purse, but as soon as he stepped inside she quickly snapped it shut and smiled nervously at him.

 _Probably better not to ask_ , Adrien thought. "You were really great," were the first words out of his mouth. Hadn't he said this before? He felt like a broken record. "I mean, that routine was so good! How long have you guys been practicing?"

The door lay wide open and the chill from outside filtered in, tinging her nose and cheeks reddish-pink as she scrambled to get up off the floor. Adrien chuckled slightly. Everything she did was so endearing it made his chest hurt.

"Thanks, Adrien!" she beamed. "We had a few weeks to get it down, so that's probably why it looked good. It wasn't really hard, but I enjoyed it a lot! Y'know, even though it was easy." It all came out in a rush. She glowed with pride, and Adrien hoped she could see it reflected in his eyes.

Now that he was here, though, the words that he'd spent hours practicing eluded him for several seconds. Apprehension, previously non-existent, washed over him as he tried to speak, failed, then cleared his throat and tried again.

Marinette furrowed her brows slightly, taking a step closer. "What's up?"

"I… uh, I know- I know you like me," he stuttered. Marinette jerked violently.

"A-Adrien, I don't…"

"Wait, hold on, that's not what I meant to say!" he cut in self-consciously. "I- I like you, too, I think. No, I _know_. That is, I have feelings for you. As well," he finished lamely.

Marinette stood silently, her blush growing deeper. "Wait, you…" she started, then stopped. She blinked in disbelief, her eyes growing wide. "You like… _me_?"

"Yes, I do," Adrien said, more firmly this time. "And I'd really like to kiss you right now, if that's okay. You don't have to, of course, I was just, uh, if you _wanted_ to…" the words died on his tongue as Marinette held his gaze, her mouth slowly but surely forming a huge smile.

Suddenly she started running, and he only had a split second to brace himself before she threw her arms around him, pressing her face into his chest and hugging him tightly. Her hair felt incredibly soft on Adrien's cheek, and he noted, oddly enough, that it smelled like strawberries.

Then, drawing on every last reserve of bravery in her body, Marinette pulled back, stood on her toes, placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed him. Adrien promptly forgot all about her hair. The only thing on his mind was Marinette's lips, which were currently setting every one of his senses on fire.

It was a chaste kiss, in a cold room, but warmth spread through him like she poured something sweet and strong of herself into his body, and he half expected to grow wings and float off the ground any moment now.

Mere seconds had passed when she pulled away, but his mind continued to replay the memory of her mouth on his as he gazed at her. She was all bright eyes and pink lips and delicate hands, and it was exhilarating. He struggled to catch his breath as her hands slid reluctantly down his face to his chest, coming to rest around his waist.

The sated silence that followed was broken only when Marinette said, quietly, "We won."

Adrien blinked and came back to reality. "You mean the game?" he asked, nearly masking his confusion.

Marinette grinned up at him, eyes shining. "Sure. We won the game."

Adrien laughed and said, "I didn't even notice. I was so focused on you."

Marinette averted her eyes, covering her mouth with her hand so he wouldn't see how overjoyed one sappy comment made her. It didn't work.

Now that they had begun to speak, Adrien remembered something which, though it escaped his notice when he first came in, became apparent during the kiss. He fixed his eyes on the deep-blue cashmere scarf around her neck and cocked his head slightly. "Hey, is that my scarf?"

She flicked her eyes downwards and promptly blushed again. "Oh, yeah! You left it behind in my room and I forgot to return it to you, I'm so sorry."

"No, don't worry about it. It's super cold, you should keep it."

Marinette looked up at him again, the objection clear in her eyes. "I can't do that! It's _your_ scarf, I really did mean to give it back…"

She trailed off as he gently grabbed hold of the scarf's neat tassels, pulled her close again and planted a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose.

"But it looks so much better on _you_."

And soon, Marinette was far too preoccupied to argue.

 **Fin.**


End file.
